All the Horrors of War

"Lerner's approach succeeds in giving a well-rounded view of World War II that looks at both military and medical strategy alongside a human story that shows some of the best and worst of humanity... Lerner effectively balances two very different accounts surrounding a traumatic time in history. For fans of both military history and biography."

"Bernice Lerner has provided us the opportunity to see what results when one woman's will to survive and one man's humanity are combined."

"All the Horrors of War is a valuable addition to the body of Holocaust histories and memoirs for shining a light on a not well-known historical figure... The alternating structure of the book, where the narrative moves back and forth between the lives of the rescued and the rescuer, enables the author to tell both a deeply personal story, as well as a profoundly important historical one, reminding us that history is, ultimately, always personal."

"A thoroughly-research, poignant book."

"Dr. Lerner masterfully combines the fruits of her scholarly research with gripping and engaging storytelling."

"Lerner... has written a treatise of astounding depth."

"Focusing on the traumatization of the liberator as well as the survivor, Lerner tells two fascinating stories that are original in both form and content. Her writing is clear, straightforward, and compelling. A powerful and engaging book."

"By describing the fate of one Jewish girl destined to die under the most gruesome manner and the horror experienced by a British doctor and officer upon stepping into a Nazi concentration camp, Lerner humanizes an event that is often described only from one perspective: either that of the liberators, for whom the survivors were often dehumanized 'living skeletons' because of their deplorable living conditions, or that of the survivors, for whom the liberators were angels of mercy descended from heaven after months and years of utter dehumanization by their tormentors. A valuable and highly readable book."

"A towering achievement, Lerner's narrative at once brings us into hell along with its central characters and then lifts us out on the strength of their respective forms of courage and generosity. This meticulously researched story is nourishment for the soul."

"Lerner's moving account underscores the ways luck, courage, and a wide range of factors outside her mother's control allowed her to survive. In doing so, Lerner uses the story of two people who never met to document the ways World War II made allies of strangers and transformed forever the lives of those caught in the maelstrom."

"Bernice Lerner has given us a haunting account of her mother's adolescence in Bergen-Belsen, interspersed with the life of a British physician who set up medical facilities there at the war's end. Her book is well researched and informed by both heart and mind. I could not put it down."

"Bernice Lerner's All the Horrors of War is a powerful and poignant tale that traces both the arc of the war and the history of the Holocaust. In this meticulously researched and detailed account, Lerner never lets the reader forget the humanity of the victims or their liberators."

"Dr. Bernice Lerner's new book deserves high praise and wide readership. Although the mind recoils at the immoral enormity of what she describes, the story of these two courageous individuals stands in sharp contrast to the darkness of the most evil period in human history."

"Lerner seamlessly weaves two powerful personal stories into a unique and evocative page-turner. Her decade of prodigious research—from conducting incredibly sensitive interviews with her mother to scouring through Hughes's wartime papers—is the backbone of a gripping tale that is also intimate and moving. A completely fresh account, the mix of the journeys by a liberator and by a survivor is told from the intimate perch of the survivor's daughter. All the Horrors of War is a book of considerable scholarship and talented storytelling."

"All the Horrors of War is a compact, matter-of-fact account that skillfully interlaces disparate yet related threads into a seamless story, and the juxtaposition of its protagonists provides readers with a novel and holistic perspective on historical events. In honoring her indomitable mother, Lerner likewise pays homage to a righteous gentile and an ethical exemplar who has hitherto lacked the popular awareness that is his due; in so doing, the authoress helps ensure that Hughes' sterling service and compassion remain timeless lessons to us all."

"It is both a story well told and one that needed to be told."

"An engaging and worthwhile read."